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Reading of Single Words Screening

This video shows Amy, a PowerPath-certified adult education instructor, using the Reading of Single Words Screening with Mary, an adult education student. This screening looks at how participants decode individual words.

The Reading of Single Words is part of the PowerPath to Education and Employment’s Basic Screening. For additional information on the PowerPath System please visit www.PowerPath.com.

PowerPath’s Reading of Single Words Screening is not intended to be a comprehensive reading assessment. Instead, this reading of only single words in isolation looks at decoding skills, i.e., how the sounds and symbols of meaningful language are processed.

This video shows Amy, a PowerPath-certified adult education instructor, using the Reading of Single Words Screening with Mary, an adult education student. This screening looks at how participants decode individual words.

Based upon the participant’s Total Correct score, an Independent Reading Level is identified. This level score will be helpful in locating reading materials to use in selecting colored filters with each participant.

PowerPath’s software-generated report will list the participant’s Reading Instructional Level based upon the Reading of Single Words Total Correct score. Comparing the Reading Instructional Level from this screening with a reading comprehension assessment will offer a more comprehensive view of a participant’s reading ability than using either assessment in isolation.

Decoding refers to the ability to read single words in isolation. Beginning readers first learn that individual speech sounds, or phonemes, are represented by symbols, or letters. The ability to identify and combine the sounds that make up words, known as phonemic awareness, is the framework for this sound-symbol connection.

The Reading of Single Words Screening is not a comprehensive assessment of reading ability because the words are not used in a meaningful or contextual setting. The screening requires the participant to match sounds to written symbols, remember phonetic patterns, identify blends and digraphs, recall sight words, and place a series of sounds in a correct sequence...all with the outcome of accurately identifying a meaningful word.

As individuals begin to learn that words are created when letter sounds are put together, their foundation for decoding is built. This ability to "crack the code" is an essential component of learning to read and of gaining meaning from the reading process, called reading comprehension. Good reading comprehension depends upon an individual's rapid and automatic decoding of single words.

What materials do I need?

The Reading of Single Words Screening uses the Basic Screening Plates and Basic Response Booklet. In the Screening Plates, the administration guides will provide you with the instructions you need to complete the screening.

The participant reads the words from the lists presented to them in the Basic Screening Plates. Participant responses are recorded the Basic Response Booklet.

How do I score the Reading of Single Words?

Scoring this screening is somewhat more complex than just looking for correct and incorrect responses.

For correct responsesPlace a check mark ( ✓ ) next to each correctly read word.

For incorrect responsesWrite down each incorrectly read word, exactly as the participant reads the word, next to the word in the Basic Response Booklet. It is easy to create a ‘systematic’ code to indicate how the participant incorrectly read a word. For example, for the word ‘something’ in Level I is often misread as ‘someone.’ A quick notation might be: something one or, in Level 2 the word ‘bark’ is often misread as ‘dark’. A notation for this might simply be: d bark

NOTE: Please respect regional dialects and cultural nuances. Often participants from inner-cities or very rural locations leave off endings or plural endings of words. For example, in Level 6 the first word is ‘examples.’ If the student reads the word as ‘example’ and were raised in the inner city or a rural location, do not count their reading of the word as incorrect.

Similarity, nonnative English Language Learners (ELL, ESOL, ESL) often do not read combined words with an apostrophe. In Level 4, you'll see the words ‘can’t’ and ‘wouldn’t.’ If these are read as ‘cannot’ and ‘would not’ note the misread but still count the word as correct.

Stop screening

When the participant has incorrectly read five (5) consecutive words in a single level, discontinue the screening. AND…

IF the five (5) consecutive words come in the middle of the reading level, let the participant continue attempting to read the remainder of words in the level. If the participant correctly reads any of the additional words in the list count them as correct and add them to the Total Correct Score for the list.

Add up the individual level totals of correctly read words and write that number in the Total Correct box.

By subtracting 10 from the Total Correct Score, then adding a decimal point, the final number will be the participant’s instructional reading level. This is the level that the participant should be able to learn new vocabulary and increase their comprehension skills.

By subtracting 20 from the Total Correct Score, then adding a decimal point, the final number will be the participant’s independent reading level. This is the level that the participant should be able to read the materials comfortably, know most of the vocabulary and demonstrate competency with their comprehension skills.

For complete information on this portion of the PowerPath System, please click here.

Amy reads the instructions to the screening prior to asking the participant to read the words from the Screening Plates. She repeats the written instructions for each level. Why do you think this repetition is important for an accurate screening and for the participant?

As Mary reads the words on the screening plate, Amy marks her responses. When Mary doesn’t read the word correctly she writes down what Mary said that was incorrect. Why do you think this notation is important?

Listen to the feedback Amy gives Mary. She offers Mary encouragement, but she doesn’t tell her the accuracy of her response. Why do you think that is important?

Use your finger to show the participant that he/she is to read down the column of words on his/her side of the Basic Screening Plates.

Participants may use their fingers or hands to help them as they read down the list of words. If they do use their fingers or hands, make note of this on the comment sheet at the end of the Basic Response Booklet.

If a participant tries pronouncing the word in several different ways and you are not sure which one to score or write down, ask the participant, “What is your final response?” Then score that response.

If a participant is not sure of a word, tell the participant to sound it out “as best as you can.” You may also need to remind a participant that it is OK to “Skip” a word they do not know the word and don’t want to try to sound it out.